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The Legend of The Goatman

Since ancient times, there has been legends told of creatures to be half human, half animal. Such myths exist within Greek mythological portraying the harpy, the minotaur, and the satyr. The satyr is described as a mystical, woodland creature that was part human and part goat. Even today, a similar creature is said within urban legends to be roaming the backwoods of America. We introduce the Goatman of Maryland.

The Goatman is described as half man, half goat at times known to be wielding an axe. Those who believed to seen the creature say he is between six to eight feet tall, massive and aggressive if encountered. Variations of the Goatman’s story can be found in Michigan, Kentucky, Texas and Maryland. In this article, we will be examining the urban myth from Maryland.

According to legend, the origin of the Goatman begins in the Agricultural Research Centre in Beltsvillia, Maryland, 50 years ago. Whether something gone terribly wrong or intentional, an experiment was conducted to infuse animal and human DNA resulting in the birth of a hybrid child. The infant grew into a half man half goat beast, but was subjected to years of testing and abuse. One day the creature had enough and killed several of the facility’s personnel while escaping into the woods of Beltsvillian. Other versions to the Goatman origins mentioned were a man who became cursed, a demon accidentally summoned and the Devil himself.

Over the years, several rural communities within Maryland experienced a sudden increase of missing pets along with livestock disappearing. Concerns grew as some of the animals’ remains were found to have been torn or cut up. The legend of Goatman was born on a night involving a young couple having a romantic encounter while parked along the side of Fletchertown Road in Bowie, Maryland. The two lovers reported a humanoid, goat-like creature attacked their car with an axe, forcing them to drive off in fear of their lives.

Soon, sightings of the Goatman where reported across Maryland from Huntington, Bowie, Hyattsville, Glenn Dale along with some small rural communities. Stores started to emerged of the creature assaulting people, in a few cases with an axe, in their cars, or hiking trail and even in their own backyards. Some folks would make claims to meeting him face-to-face or barely escaping with an axe injury. Mysterious deaths or local disappearance were blamed on the Goatman yet no evidence to verify those accusations ever surfaced. Despite attempts to debunk the urban legend, sightings continue to this day.

Within the last decade, interest of the Goatman story has increased among paranormal investigators. Some cryptozologist theorize the creature sighted is actually a Sasquatch or some unknown species of hominid. Other researchers seek to discover if there is any supernatural connection to the creature. The latest twist to the Goatman legend involves posts made on the Internet reporting of a paranormal researcher or group to have vanished while conducting an investigation in the backwoods of Maryland.

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